X-Men #24: Power Struggle

X-Men #24 serves as the second part of an epilogue to a title-wide event. That epilogue has had some ups and downs, with the “good guy half” focusing on the Alaskan mutants in X-Men #23 earlier this month. The issue does two things rather strongly: first, it concludes the aftermath of the Age of Revelation, and second, it sets up the future of 3K and mutates their malevolent motives for upcoming storylines. That kind of writing is what made X-Men so successful in the first place, and it’s here in issues like this one where we see the best of Jed MacKay’s long-form plans for the X titles.

Warning: Spoilers for the Age of Revelation ahead. These spoilers are necessary for the review of this issue and are integral talking points to understand both the story criticism and narrative analysis.

The organization of 3K has played the villain to the Alaskan X-Men’s heroes for quite some time since the current era’s initial issues in mid- to late 2024. In Age of Revelation: Finale #1, we found out that the Beast who was seen X years into the future alongside Cyclops was not the Alaskan X-Man himself but the Krakoan consciousness of Hank McCoy’s worst incarnation. We also found out that same consciousness is in fact the villainous Chairman of 3K, the same organization that has been creating artificial mutants ever since X-Men #1 back in 2024.

With all of that in place, with their chairman occupied in the Age of Revelation, what has happened to the leadership of 3K in the present day? Two figureheads desire the throne: Astra and Cassandra Nova. You could cut the tension between the two of them with an Adamantium steak knife. As both mutant madwomen scheme to become chairman of 3K. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans and all that.

There isn’t much action in here aside from a single panel or two, not pages but panels. It fits this style of story, which is more about intrigue than combat, but it doesn’t provide a great hook for readers who may find themselves exasperated with the continual fallout of the Age of Revelation. Therefore, the issue is mostly dialogue and villainous metaphorical chair turns, such as the reappearance of 3K’s chairman after the end of the Age of Revelation.

That being said, the artwork is excellent. The trio of artists Tony S. Daniel, Mark Morales, and colorist Fernando Sifuentes-Sujo is a strong artistic lineup. Every character and even the small bits of action we got are drawn with painstaking amounts of detail and adorned with color that feels cold, which matches the “no love lost” attitude that permeates the air between 3K’s different factions.